Changes in the electrical conductivity of foods during ohmic heating

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Abstract
Summary: Ohmic heating is a food processing operation in which heat is internally generated within foods by the passage of alternating electric current. The process enables solid particles to heat as fast as liquids, thus making it possible to use High Temperature Short Time sterilization techniques on particulate foods. Ohmic heating rates are critically dependent on the electrical conductivities of the foods being processed, about which little information is available. This paper reports experiments to determine the changes in electrical conductivity which occur during ohmic heating of some common foods. A number of effects which occur during conventional heating, such as starch transition, melting of fats and cell structure changes, are shown to affect the electrical conductivity. In some cases the presence of an electric field induces enhanced diffusion of cell fluids in the food which increases the rate of change of conductivity with temperature above that found by conventional heating. Preheating is found to increase the electrical conductivity of some foods, making them acceptable for ohmic processing.

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